Homemade GMRS SHTF Repeater - Two Wouxun KG-1000G GMRS Radios - How Far Can It Transmit?
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- čas přidán 5. 05. 2021
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/ @thenotarubicon
FINALLY - the homemade GMRS repeater made from two Wouxun KG-1000G 50 Watt GMRS radios is online - but does it work, and how far can I talk on it?
Products I used to build this GMRS repeater:
Wouxun KG-1000G GMRS radios:
www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxu...
Tram 1486 UHF base antenna:
www.buytwowayradios.com/tram-...
Coax - LMR-400: amzn.to/3eahXt6
Telescoping antenna mast:
amzn.to/3u3YVKw
Samlex SEC-1235 30AMP 12V DC Power Supply:
www.buytwowayradios.com/samle...
GMRS Duplexer:
www.buytwowayradios.com/xlt-d...
Music by Stern Beats - You can find him here:
/ @sternbeats9057
#GMRS #Wouxun #SHTF - Auta a dopravní prostředky
This dude has the best CZcams personality I’ve seen, love the info and content. Awesome Channel! I thought about doing it exactly what you are doing. I’m sooooo glad you decided to do it first 😀👍
be sure not to leave your cabinets open or you will be considered a "Savage" LOL
Your sarcasm is priceless, great channel, good info. Thx👍
Great call on Buy Two Way Radios. Great people and great customer service, I am in the rabbit hole now!
The last field trip I took in school was in the 7th grade. We went to Washington, D.C. Stayed in a nice hotel. Of course, boys being boys and being from the - ahem - "Ft. Bragg area", we rigged up ropes so we could rappel down from our 7th floor room to the girls on the 6th floor without any chaperone interference. Worked like a charm. Still got in trouble for it, but we didn't care.
That price is a bargain for what you get. It would be cool to make this a mobile rig that can cover a base camp position in the middle of nowhere.
Great series of videos.
"The name is Princess notarubicon Sparkle Pony 😂😂 to hilarious Randy RoFL 🤣 @NotaRubicon Productions
Muffin fan(s) on side panel with filter media on the intake should move ambient air into cabinet, provide positive pressure to help keep out dust, and remove heat. Looks like a good model to emulate. Thank you!
You've got your A-game here, Randy.
I have a set of these two radios as a backup repeater for my main repeater in Pennsylvania site ….. It was an easy to set up and the J pole antenna is set at 300 feet from ground level on a 700 foot tower where our main antenna is located ….
I used LMR 400 to feed the J pole antenna that was made specifically for GMRS …. The this backup repeater and my main repeater are run off of Solar panels that generate 700 what’s on average to the solar battery bank in the shack below …. A wind power system is being added in to the System soon for extra power …… a 4000 watt generator is also connected to the system that kicks in when solar power is insufficient and batteries go below half capacity …. There is no utility connected to the shack to run the equipment …. It was meant to be completely self sufficient …. and no electric bills pay each month …. The solar and wind power system was a community funded system for the shack for emergency and public communications ….
Anyway the set up and the antenna at 300 feet work very well and have made it into the repeater from my mobile at 75 miles away and about 40 to 50 miles from my anytone handheld …. Depending on the direction the signal is coming from …. I don’t have the ID’er yet but am looking at one or two to see if they are compatible ….
I’ve had very impressive reports on the repeater and keep two small solar powered fans on the equipment that run 24/7 ….
I love the backup repeater as a back up repeater and am very impressed with the quality …. I have not tested it at longer range yet …. But know it works when I need it to cover at least 50 miles …. I certainly recommend your set up to anyone starting out ….
The biggest thing is hight and at minimum good quality/ Low loss antenna cable …. Good power supply to handle the load …. A duplexer tuned to your pair ….. and at least a halfway decent antenna …..
Love your videos for sharing your experience with your set up ….
Good stuff, Randy. Thanks for posting this series.
Congratulations, Randy, glad it all came together for you, thanks for sharing the experience. Looking forward to your next video.
Thank you for all your videos and comments we are just now getting into the gmsr learn a lot from you already
congratulations sir, now that you finally build a repeater. I always watch your youtube videos. 73 from Cebu City Philippines
Absolutely LOVE your videos.
I spent most of my childhood living in Rancho Cucamonga, near Foothill and Archibald, back when they were still grape vineyards there. Had to walk through them to get to school! I even got to go see the Concorde SST land at Ontario the one and only time it was allowed to do so. Remeber when you had to actually drive around the airport runway instead of underneath it?
Sounds like you are near my old stompin grounds. No 210 FWY in the foothills back then either, it ended at the 57.
Maybe we can drop in and say hello the next time we are visiting...
Thanks for the great content, and keep up the wonderful work!
Great Channel, love your sense of humor, keep the helpful videos coming!
I love this. I can't wait to see you open that cabinet one day, to show the cooling system that's meant for a computer but is working wonders with some innovation.
Your repeater is working great. I hit it from my front yard last night in Denver, CO.
I just got my GMRS Lic yesterday (WROD361). I subscribed to your channel. I enjoy your videos and I’m learning a lot. I’ve been involved in radios and radio systems when I work law enforcement.
Randy,
Fantastic videos! I fell down the ham radio rabbit hole thanks to covid in 2020 for ecomms but the rest of the family is not interested in studying and sitting for the tests. Started exploring GMRS a few days ago and ran across your channel. No open GMRS irepeaters n my immediate area in Nassau County NY, so your how-to vids are potentially going to be my guideposts. I have a friend at the local volunteer fire department and they have a tower for their radios. Don't know if they have gone this route. You got me thinking in all kinds of directions. My daughter lives the next town over but I don't think I would be able to reach her on an HT.
Also like your workbench mat. Fell down that rabbit hole too. That is a story for another time.
Pete
I would love to be able to set up a system like this. After the Carr Fire and the Camp Fire, it became apparent this was a much needed setup for where I live.
Thank you for this series. Much appreciated!
Great series of videos!
Really appreciate your work Randy - have learned a lot - building my first repeater now! Have followed many of your recommendations and passed on to others. Love the “Sad Ham” stick ... one of the reasons I have stayed away from Ham for years. Your presentations have spurred me on to get the Technician License and not worry about the “Sad Hams” out there. Please keep them coming. I also love my UV5R’s - warts and all. Can’t be beat at price. Looking forward to your GMRS antenna saga as this my next step at home. Thinking chimney mount that will loft antenna up to 60 feet when installed. Still evaluating which antenna to purchase - would be interested to hear why you selected the antenna you did. Live in NVA - lots of trees - mountains are far to the west - 4-50 miles so few obstructions - lots of repeaters in area - GMRS and Ham bands - massive traffic due to close proximity to DC and all the “noise” it generates. Thank you!!!
Awesome set up!!!! It works great as well, I was able to reach you the other day.
Of all the CZcams personalities/characters, you are absolutely my favorite. The best mix of humor and quality information. I hope your not unaware of the amount of money you could make voice acting.
I’m in the Ontario area. I figured I should be hitting you from where I’m at. I’m really glad u put this together. I’ve been wanting to do the same. You made it simple. Appreciate it.
Not to steal from Randy's repeater... but dont forget about the one that sits up on Crestline, You'll be able to get us up here in the HD! I was able to hit the IE from the Victorville area on a MXT115 installed on the Jeep.
I cant hit Randy's repeater from the HD due to the big ol mountains in the way. I am going to try to hit it when I am in the Big Bear area tho when I am on his side of the mountain.
Very good video man very informative I am a gmrs license operator just starting out thank you for your help
I am wanting to build something like this for my community and personal SHTF needs. Thanks for doing these videos.
Joined to support an amazing creator that makes me laugh as much as learn. Thank you sir! Love the GMRS videos keep 'em coming :).
No new update, other than "Soon" - this is a new product (its a cable interface), so i will probably be their test-case.
@@TheNotaRubicon no one better to rest it. Thank you for your work.
What a great job!!! I just came a cross your video and subscribe in 1,2,3 , keep the good work brother and you right some people will always want to see you failed but you are the one to decide that from other , 73 from WRJD209 in Massachusetts.
@notarubicon love your channel! Simple content has been a huge help!!
I just got my GMRS license. Your video series for making an "affordable" GMRS Repeater was great, and impressively good even to the end of this video. I was considering making a GMRS repeater; however I will make a mobile or SHTF moment unit- My kids, wife, and neighbors will scream on High TX Power. 😀🤣😎
Thanks for putting the repeater together and nice it's finally up. I should be able to hit your repeater from Chino Hills as I'm on a high spot open to the valley North to East. I was able to put my low level repeater together with a huge deal Yaesu was running. DR2X digital/analog repeater, coax, similar duplexer you have and antenna for about $1100. The repeater was $800 with a network card, so it was a huge promotion Yaesu was giving. For a low level repeater, it works awesome in our neighborhood riddled with little hills and covers all the way Fontana East. Great way to learn how they work. Mine is in a mobile network mount box, like concert equipment, so I can pack and take it to King of Hammers or large events like that. Makes it nice being mobile. Amazon has some cabinet fans (AC Infinity multifan S3) I use under my radios to drive additional airflow. they are super quiet and multiple speeds. check them out.
I found Building a GMRS Repeater For Personal or SHTF PART III, loved it! Now searching for Building a GMRS Repeater For Personal or SHTF PART IV! Thanks!
Nice job Randy! It's good you kept the wife happy by enclosing the gear in a cupboard. Hope you got the heat issues sorted.✌️
Thanks for the demonstration and video,
Will be doing the same basic setup with two 980ps.
Very educational. Keep up
The videos.,Thanks.
Love your channel. Thank you for this video series.
Thanks for the project and the video. Been wanting to do this myself.
LOVE THE NEW BOOM MIC !
you did a great job. I been on the radio since 1974. I enjoy success stories like yours. Sad hams are just jelious
Thanks for sharing this information. Your idea of adding another hole with a 'computer' fan will fix your heat issue. I had a similar heat issue with electrical equipment in a cabinet. Of course it needs to be spaced away from the current hole.
Good job ! It’s a lot more then I would want to spend. I’m working on a set up that we can communicate at least in a 10 - 15 miles around my home. So far just with hand held radios and stock rubber duck antennas we get a 2-3 mile circle around my house . I’m not going to do a repeater yet . I’m putting up a outside antenna. Then I’m going to see what we can do from hand held to base . If that doesn’t do it I will try to do the cheaper route of a simplex repeaters.
I just watched all 3 parts in one sitting. Pretty cool man. I'm building a 110' Rohn 25G tower right now to get above trees for my Starlink. I could see doing a setup like this to.
Yes. I’ve been waiting. Thanks for vids.
Nicely done. Looking to do the same someday soon at my place.
Great video with a lot of really useful information! Thank you!
Nice work Randy 👍
Flew into Ontario airport more than a few times. Great Videos!
That is so cool. I wish Buy Two Way would kit this.
Great job. Love your humor.
Great job on a good repeater! Tweaking it to optimize, if you choose, and you'll be very happy!
Drilling ~1" holes in the bottom and top of the cabinet will allow a natural air flow throught the cabinet. Great video!
Nice!
Very clean install👍
I have Tram, Comet and Diamond antennas and to my surprise, my inexpensive Tram antenna out performs my pricey antennas. Expensive doesn't always mean better. Thanks for sharing your repeater with the community.
Awesome! Looks great. I hope you do a follow up video, so we can see it in action.
I like it! I know this isn’t apples to apples but I bought a used Motorola GR1225 with an internal Duplexer for $570+$60 shipping on fleebay.
Anyway. These kg-1000g’s look nice. They remind my a lot of the TYT-7800 I have, where the fan kicks on every time it Tx.
I ended up mounting a 12v 120mm PC directly to the power supply that ran constantly across the heat sink of the radio.
That was the ticket. The little factory fan kicking on during Tx didn’t have enough air flow to keep the radio cool under light-moderate talking.
Excellent work congratulations
i love your content. you make me laugh. i enjoy it so much i am super subscriber now.
Great series, Randy! You show us exactly what is necessary and explain it so anyone with a public education can understand it. (LOL) You chose your components wisely and I took notes so I can put up my own repeater one day. Thank you as always. WRDN460
Very good job and very neat, looks great
Great video, very informative, thank you.
very clean setup and great video.
Very nice 👍🏻 Thanks for the great information.
Good job! Want to see video on your antenna too.
LMR400 works just fine for some indeterminate period of time. Eventually the dissimilar metals in the braid and foil will deteriorate and begin generating noise. Of course by then you may have lost interest in the 'hobby' or may have - God forbid - left this mortal coil...
You have a very nice and clean installation! ;)
Thank you for your efforts to educate us new to GMRS radio. I am a HAM (WH6PD) and have several HAM repeaters here on OAHU HAWAII. I was asked to help a GMRS group put together a repeater for their Group and Community. I was a Radio Repairman in the Army and I have a well equipped Radio Shop here ay home. My question is, Many advertisements from GMRS dealers do not mention a Repeater Controller when they say a radio just needs a interconnecting Cable provided with the radio. Currently I am putting together a KG-1000G based repeater for this group and I want to use the ID-O- MATIC to do the ID, timeout. and courtesy tone and the Remote transmitter shut down functions. Unfortunately there was no Pin out info with the radios to Identify the connections in the Provided cable. If you do install the Controller on your repeater, could you shed some light on this addition. Also there is some who think a ID or Remote shut down is not necessary or required, I believe it is , but I am a Ham and really don't know much about Gmrs Rules. Thank you for your time and effort to this service, Many have benefitted from your work, This HAM Has and I look forward for more. 73 WH6PD
For your consideration... a PC case fan with a vent at the top of the cabinet to exhaust the heat. They are a few bucks on amazon and you could run it from the power supply with very little impact on how much juice it uses (get a quiet one). Also, you may already know but I'll kick it out there, I think antenna height may serve you better than higher power output at UHF. Obvious balance needs to be given to safety and line loss etc (your LMR should serve you well), but seriously 10ft higher might perform better than 10 more watts.
Nice series , thanks for putting this out there!
Great project! Nice job!
I might have to do this after I complete my ever growing to-do list.
Great video. If nobody has yet to suggest it maybe a 12volt fan , an intake and exaust hole. The fan could be ran on the power supply
If it works, it works. Doesn't matter if it's held together with string and gum. I am building a repeater also but mine is for ham. The next one I do will be GMRS. If you have an email I can send you stuff at, then I can send you a price list and it should end up being about $600 or so. I am waiting on the radios and duplexer to come in. When they do show, I will link a video to you also.
Love your videos! Thank you very much.
Can you give us an update and how did you connect the repeater to Zello?
This channel is awesome
This is beautiful! Thank you for your effort. I learned a lot! I tried to "kerchunk" your repeater, but no luck. I live in TX. I know it was a stupid comment, but I just can't wait to be pinned to the top! I've been looking to put together a repeater in my area since I can't get your yours. And this was a great help. I just need some money.
Great informative video Randy @NotaRubicon Productions
As a way of minimizing heat in the RF cabinet consider mounting the power supply outside of it. I also noticed that the current draw was miniscule so I'm guessing you were on low power. From a previous comment I left, if you can't access your antenna's final mounting position easily then do yourself a big favor and make sure your connection is properly weather sealed and you have a service loop below it. Use the best engineering practices possible. Also, this may be a dumb point to bring up, but is your home part of a homeowner's association? If so, check to see that your HoA rules allow towers/masts and antennas. It's a real problem in a lot of the country. Some HoAs don't really care, others will come down on you like a ton of bricks.
I bought a pair of used Motorola Maxtrac radios, retired from either a police department or a company of some kind, part 90 approved, had them programed for my specific GMRS frequency pair ,and they work great, bought them for 189 buck for both, but I'd love to learn more about the Duplexer cause using 1 antenna just looks better overall.
Congratulations!
Brotip:
I installed some "cooking" equipment in a office cabinet very similar to yours. I drilled two holes with a holesaw approximately the same size as a desk orifice, and let convention do its magic. Went from unbearably hot to about 10* above room temp.
I have been looking to piece one together myself. I would mount out in a outbuilding here in Central Utah so we do get some days at or near 100º. I was thinking I would bore a few holes in the box. On two or three I would just cover with maybe one of those green dish scrubbers and then make an exhaust with a little computer "whisper fan" and then maybe add a fan over the heatsink fins of the transmit radio as well. If I do Solar and SLA I think I would take advantage of the transmit relay signal to turn the fans on when the signal is received and the retransmission begins. I found all sorts of cheap circuits on Ebay and Wish if I cannot get a suitable switching signal from my receive radio I can always use a cheap VOX, Timer and even IDer. Then again 100 bucks for a controller is not that bad... lol As an old CBer and Extra Class Ham I LOVE your vids. How on earth did Ham radio operators get so stuffy... ?
This is a slippery slope… isn’t it?
Not sure when again I’ll be in California, but if I ever do, I’ll say hi on your repeater. ❤
Also, your simple setup is beautiful!
Looks good and works. What more could you ask for when not trying to reach Mars
HA HA HA, glad you liked my name for you! Great job and sense of humor!
Great channel. Thanks
Nicely done! I may need to do this in my little Northern Nevada town. I could probably cover the whole valley here. I'd try to do it with off-grid power, for usefulness during grid outages, or Potential-Putin-Plutonium-Problems.
Love this series, I am a younger ham here in socal, not an OSH, yet at least. I have a buddy who inherited a telescoping mast tower he doesn't want. It is up in nipomo. Reach out to me if you're interested in acquiring it. Pretty sure he just wants it gone. I would also love to try and hit the repeater. I'll poke around and see if i can find the info or send it over to me. Good luck and thank you for the series.
That's a fine Howdy Duty cycle!
I like your Chanel keep up the good work
I have a small 4 cu. ft. refrigerator that I don’t use anymore but still works. I bet I can install the radios in that to keep them cool. I’ll notch the seal on the door to run the cables out of it. Overheating problem solved.
This is really REALLY cool.
Nice to see 2 of these KG-1000G radios Running as a repeater setup My KG-1000G Plus just shipped so excited to get it kinda impatiently waiting for my new Toy like Christmas oh wait Christmas is almost here lol 😂😂 @NotaRubicon Productions
great job, simple perfection. Im on my 2end gmrs and ham license have you seen the little repeater 10 watt i think on amazon for about 400 dollars. I would like to see someone do a video on those. it would be great for a portable system or just a few miles around your home. good video thanks for your effort
Keith he DID a review on the Retevis mobile repeater featured on Amazon. It's a 10 watt repeater that by the time the signal goes out the antenna it's a little over 5 watts.
Antenna placement is a pain. I’m looking to mount a similar antenna on the side exterior of my 2 story house so it extends higher than the roof line. I hate ladders and falling off ladders so not sure if I’ll be able to. I’m also using LMR-400 and it’s expensive. Thanks for the great videos!
I wouldn’t want to join any group that would have me as a member
I made a similar comment and a dip wad replied that I have self esteem issues. No can that a joke.
Groucho Marx said this.
The last time I 'joined" anything was the Army and just look at all the damage I did to the entire Balkans.
But I love this channel for its complete irreverent boomer humor.
For your WiFi dropping out (RFI) - you might have some luck with some ferrite chokes. They're fairly inexpensive and there are a lot of examples online. Glad to see you've made progress!
First step is moving the antenna to the final location. That might be sufficient especially if it is fundamental overload of the WiFi receiver. Maybe the repeater transmitter harmonic suppression is lacking..... The duplexer might already take care of the harmonics though.
Glad it works.
Will see if I can connect this summer while delivering in Ontario. Probably be doing a delivery in Chino. I live in E Oregon so should be coming in on 15. Thanks!
Put some slots on the bottom of the cabinet and a few holes up above high in the back of the cabinet to convect heat to your crawl space. The incoming temperature will be whatever the temp of the room is. Out going air will exit as a flow so long as the exit holes are above the intake up high in the back. No need for extra fans...
Do this all the time with AV and lighting drivers in cabinets. It will be like the doors were opened... It will however draw dust into the cabinet.... Periodic cleaning....
Congratulations 👏
Drill some 120MM holes in the back of the cabinet and put some Noctua 120mm fans in it. They are silent, and will move a lot of air. I had some network equipment in a similar case, and I had to go to slow fans because the higher speed ones caused the "cavity" created by the cabinet to resonate and make a lot of extra noise.